“The 2013 Best Places to Work data present a disturbing picture of federal employees throughout the government who are increasingly dissatisfied with their jobs and workplaces. Government-wide, the federal employee job satisfaction and commitment level dropped for the third year in a row, tumbling 3 points to a score of 57.8 on a scale of 100. This represents the lowest overall Best Places to Work score since the rankings were first launched in 2003, and follows a 3.2-point drop in 2012 and a 1-point decline in 2011. In contrast, private-sector employee satisfaction improved by 0.7 points in 2013 to a score of 70.7, according to Hay Group…Government-wide, the 2013 Best Places to Work data show a decline in all of the 10 separate workplace categories that the Partnership for Public Service and Deloitte examined. The biggest decrease involved the satisfaction of federal employees with their pay, which fell 4.7 points in 2013 and contributed to a decline of 12.7 points since 2010. The second-biggest change involved decreased satisfaction with training and development opportunities, which fell 3.2 points, followed by rewards and advancement, which dropped by 2.2 points.”

• See also the Washington Post’s article and related searchable database of survey results – Which government agency is best to work for? By Darla Cameron and Richard Johnson, Published: Dec. 18, 2013: “The Best Places to Work Index is a 0-100 rating of how federal workers feel about aspects of their jobs. Using a questionnaire given to more than 376,000 federal employees, the index catalogues and ranks government agencies and departments. The survey, by the Partnership for Public Service, covers job satisfaction, wages and leadership. The results are published online in a database that allows users to find the departments where they can expect employee bliss and which agencies to avoid in the search for a happy work environment.”